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On a positive note: I like the way Baertschi continues to develop


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1 hour ago, Virtanen#18 said:

I think we should give Jensen another shot once he can produce consistently in the AHL. Time to pull the plug on this Sven experiment! 

That's IF he can produce consistently at the AHL level. Apparently, he hasn't been doing so hot as of late.

We have a much better chance with Baertschi than Jensen at the moment I think.

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14 hours ago, The Lock said:

That's IF he can produce consistently at the AHL level. Apparently, he hasn't been doing so hot as of late.

We have a much better chance with Baertschi than Jensen at the moment I think.

The trouble is the guy has a point. Jensen at his worst, when in the team was not much worse than Baer is now imo. I mean he was always a threat because he could snipe.

I'm not saying I want Jensen back - yet but I just wish Sven would get in the game a bit more. His lack of ability to compete on the boards is for me a product of poor coaching somewhere along the line. I mean it's not like he's a runt. He is heavier than both Sedins and the same weight as Sutter; given that, at 5'-11" he has a lower centre of gravity he should be able to hold his own. 

I would like to show him more patience but I keep hearing Burkes opinion of Sven echoing in my head. :(

For goodness sake lets get someone like Gaunce back before the season slips away from us.

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Quote

Kuzma: Time for Baertschi to step up

 

 

Canucks forward Sven Baertschi says he knows he has to get to the front of the opposition’s net, ‘but it’s tough to get there.’ He also knows he must shoot and score more if he wants to keep a roster spot.

ANAHEIM — If it was a popularity contest, Sven Baertschi wouldn’t stand a chance.

It’s understandable that a passionate Lower Mainland hockey populace can’t get enough of rookie Jake Virtanen. He’s homegrown. He hits like a truck. He’s a little kid wrapped in a big man’s body. His playful nature extends from hamming it up at practice to interrupting locker-room interviews.

All that exuberance comes from confidence and knowing he’ll eventually stake a permanent place on an NHL roster.

For now, it’s a rotating place. For Virtanen, time is on his side. For Baertschi, it’s time to produce.

The Vancouver Canucks need his speed and skill and Virtanen’s relentless will. If it was wrapped up in one player, there wouldn’t be hot debates when the local kid sits and the Swiss product plays. But it’s more than just a four-year age difference and the fact one is boisterous and the other reserved.

The Canucks have an investment in both, but desperately need a return for their faith in Baertschi. They gave up a second-round pick to Calgary at the 2015 trade deadline in a roll of the development dice. They gave a one-year, one-way, show-me $900,000 US contract and the vote of confidence that a second-line spot was his for the taking. And now, you can’t help but wonder.

Baertschi will tell you he has a more complete game, he’s playing more on instinct with and without the puck and isn’t second-guessing himself about positioning. He’s happy with his play, which is probably a stretch. In a bottom-line business, the critics see two goals in 20 games on just 21 shots in 10:46 of average ice time.

They don’t see what Baertschi sees and, frankly, it’s a hard sell to those not immersed in details of the game, those who only see what the camera catches. He replaced Virtanen Friday in Dallas and took an offensive-zone tripping minor that led to a goal in the Stars’ shootout victory. He was easily taken off the puck along the end boards by Tyler Seguin and had but one third-period slot shot in just 8:10 of ice time.

“Every single day, it’s a battle and when you have extra players, you really have to have a good game or you’re going to sit the next one,” said Baertschi, who has been scratched four times. “But on the other side, it’s a great thing to have because it pushes you and takes you to the next level. The one thing I keep telling myself is that I’m going to look back one day and say: ‘Damn, that was worth it.’ All the tough times. I’m in a good place now and my game is getting better. There’s still a long season ahead and I can make a lot of progress.

“At some point, I’m going to come through and start playing really well.”

Obviously, the question is: When, Sven? You notice Virtanen, you’d like to notice Baertschi. He knows where he has to go because a perimeter game won’t cut in The Show. It’s almost like Linden Vey 2.0. Baertschi looked like a roster lock in the summer, had an uninspiring goalless pre-season and needed a dozen games to net his first goal. Maybe that weight of being the 13th overall pick by Calgary in the 2011 is more than he’s willing to admit. Then again, he’s 23 and not 33. It just seems like he’s been around long because of his fallout with the Flames and his need to mature.

“The one thing I realized is the best players play,” he said. “You don’t perform, who cares where you were picked. You have to remind yourself there’s a reason you were a No. 1 (round) pick, so why stop believing in yourself? That’s who you are and there’s a reason the team wanted you. There’s an opportunity every day to play the way you can play.”

The way Baertschi has to play has never really been in his DNA. He could dangle in the WHL and dazzle with seven goals in 15 AHL games last season and eight more in 21 playoff games. He got the tough love from Utica Comets coach Travis Green and vowed to tough it out in the NHL. He must trade the want for the will.

“So many teams box out in front of the net and it’s probably 90 per cent of them,” he added. “And that’s the area I want to go to, but it’s tough to get there. But once you establish the area, it’s going to piss off the defencemen and they might take a penalty or a shot might got off your pants and in.”

Baertschi would welcome that. So would the Canucks. They wanted his speed against the Stars. They may want Virtanen’s size and grit against Anaheim Monday.

“I know I need to shoot more,” Baertschi said. “I’m looking to pass first when there are times when I see an option to shoot and I don’t quite do it. Shooting more gives you a certain confidence. I watch other guys in the NHL and how they shoot and when they shoot, and I try to pick up on that. I can do that more because with good players, you never know if they’re going to shoot or pass.”

Above all, Canucks coach Willie Desjardins wants players who are reliable in all zones. Virtanen is still processing the game at the NHL level and Baertschi is progressing in areas that don’t show in scoring statistics.

If offence comes from good defence, there’s some hope that understanding how to play in transition will spark something in Baertschi.

“There’s so much more structure in my game now,” Baertschi said. “It’s a new system and I was thinking out there and not in the right spot. Once you do it, everything becomes automatic and helps your offensive game. You don’t have to focus on being in the right spot because you are and you can just go with the puck.”

It all sounds good.

It just hasn’t happened yet.

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/hockey/canucks-hockey/kuzma+time+canucks+winger+baertschi+step/11552149/story.html

I'm glad that he knows he has to get to the front of the net, but I notice him not even trying a lot of the time. That being said, this is a serious team wide problem. Here's Sven by the far goal post..:picard:

baertschi2.gif?w=774&h=384

He seems to get pushed/fall down a hell of a lot as well. I think that he was in pretty poor shape and he certainly worked on it in the summer, but it hasn't been enough. He looks to need at least one more summer of good strength and conditioning training. Seems to lack that extra step to gain separation and create space for himself

sven1.gif?w=687&h=381

 

 

 

 

 

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On 11/22/2015, 2:09:48, Bang Bang Boogie said:
15 hours ago, Virtanen#18 said:

I think we should give Jensen another shot once he can produce consistently in the AHL. Time to pull the plug on this Sven experiment! 

 

I don't see the logic in 'pulling the plug' on Baer, as he would likely get claimed if waived.  Jensen can go up or down without waivers, so he will likely get a chance sometime during the year.

Baer has improved his defensive game, but still needs to work on his battle along the boards.  This team really needs a playmaker like him.  He isn't hurting the team, so why not keep him for the rest of the season and see if he can transition his great AHL game into the NHL?

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17 minutes ago, Madwolf said:

I think Baer is going to be a late bloomer this year. He really hasn't panned out thus far, but I don't think a quarter of hockey is enough reason to sell the guy up river quite yet.

Agreed, I'd hope they give him another summer of hard training, just as Vey was

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44 minutes ago, Robongo said:

I'm glad that he knows he has to get to the front of the net, but I notice him not even trying a lot of the time. That being said, this is a serious team wide problem. Here's Sven by the far goal post..:picard:

baertschi2.gif?w=774&h=384

He seems to get pushed/fall down a hell of a lot as well. I think that he was in pretty poor shape and he certainly worked on it in the summer, but it hasn't been enough. He looks to need at least one more summer of good strength and conditioning training. Seems to lack that extra step to gain separation and create space for himself

sven1.gif?w=687&h=381

 

 

 

 

 

He's not that type of player though.  How often do you see Hank go to the net? Baerschi needs to be the brains on his line, a positional checking Centre who is defensively sound and a fore checker who can burry chances would work well with him.

 

Something like Baertschi Sutter Burrows could work well I think. (Too bad Brandon is injured )

Sedin Sedin Hansen 

Baertschi Sutter Burrows 

Cracknell McCann Vrbata

Prust Horvat Dorsett

Virtanen

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Baertschi is a bit of a black hole. Burke knew it and Benning is finding out now. 

Don't see him making the team. He's not showing the character or willingness to help the team win. 

Hopefully Benning can recoup the pick somehow in a trade. Although I can't see any other team offering too much for a soft perimeter player like him. 

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1 hour ago, alfstonker said:

The trouble is the guy has a point. Jensen at his worst, when in the team was not much worse than Baer is now imo. I mean he was always a threat because he could snipe.

I'm not saying I want Jensen back - yet but I just wish Sven would get in the game a bit more. His lack of ability to compete on the boards is for me a product of poor coaching somewhere along the line. I mean it's not like he's a runt. He is heavier than both Sedins and the same weight as Sutter; given that, at 5'-11" he has a lower centre of gravity he should be able to hold his own. 

I would like to show him more patience but I keep hearing Burkes opinion of Sven echoing in my head. :(

For goodness sake lets get someone like Gaunce back before the season slips away from us.

While blaming WD for players not doing things right is tempting, this falls on Baertschi and Baertschi alone. He's not willing to pay the price and shouldn't be gifted minutes. 

Virtanen is far more motivated and engaged and excels in his physical role. 

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1 hour ago, alfstonker said:

 

For goodness sake lets get someone like Gaunce back before the season slips away from us.

This. I think the lazy penalty in the O-zone was killer. Is skating hard after the guy too much to ask or would you rather be eating popcorn in the pressbox again....we need those willing to compete. I hope he gets a paper cut and we can hide him on ir for a few months..because waiver.

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1 hour ago, alfstonker said:

The trouble is the guy has a point. Jensen at his worst, when in the team was not much worse than Baer is now imo. I mean he was always a threat because he could snipe.

I'm not saying I want Jensen back - yet but I just wish Sven would get in the game a bit more. His lack of ability to compete on the boards is for me a product of poor coaching somewhere along the line. I mean it's not like he's a runt. He is heavier than both Sedins and the same weight as Sutter; given that, at 5'-11" he has a lower centre of gravity he should be able to hold his own. 

I would like to show him more patience but I keep hearing Burkes opinion of Sven echoing in my head. :(

For goodness sake lets get someone like Gaunce back before the season slips away from us.

Baertschi has a much higher ceiling than Jensen. I think what WD and JB have done is smart. It's 1 roster spot that's used by Baertschi only half the time, making it a fairly low risk with a high reward if successful.

Jensen has yet to prove anything at the NHL level as well. Jensen lately haven't even proven much at the AHL level. If he can do stuff in the AHL, how can we expect him to do anything at the NHL level? That just makes no sense to me.

If you have Burke stuck in your head, I'm sorry to hear that. You're probably going crazy inside and unable to think clearly. ;)

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27 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

While blaming WD for players not doing things right is tempting, this falls on Baertschi and Baertschi alone. He's not willing to pay the price and shouldn't be gifted minutes. 

Virtanen is far more motivated and engaged and excels in his physical role. 

Not every players game is crash and bang, first on the forecheck, and park themselves in front of the net, Sedins are prime examples.  They are a puck control game.  When they don't have the puck they aren't very effective.  Especially when they were beginning their careers.  Skill players need to be giving time to develop and find there confidents.  St. Louis, Sedins, and Naslund are all players they play the skill game. Sven needs to get the ice opportunity and trust from his coach.  You can see the skill set is there,  They plays he can make with the puck are at elite level and you see glimpses of his high IQ from time to time in the games.  Right now he's not hurting the team, and the reward of developing him properly is far greater than the risk.  Canucks are short on high skilled players, lets not have a knee jerk reaction 20 games in.  People were saying the same thing about the twins early in their careers.  Thankfully we were patient with them.

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37 minutes ago, ForsbergTheGreat said:

Not every players game is crash and bang, first on the forecheck, and park themselves in front of the net, Sedins are prime examples.  They are a puck control game.  When they don't have the puck they aren't very effective.  Especially when they were beginning their careers.  Skill players need to be giving time to develop and find there confidents.  St. Louis, Sedins, and Naslund are all players they play the skill game. Sven needs to get the ice opportunity and trust from his coach.  You can see the skill set is there,  They plays he can make with the puck are at elite level and you see glimpses of his high IQ from time to time in the games.  Right now he's not hurting the team, and the reward of developing him properly is far greater than the risk.  Canucks are short on high skilled players, lets not have a knee jerk reaction 20 games in.  People were saying the same thing about the twins early in their careers.  Thankfully we were patient with them.

I agree with that sentence, but I think that should fall on 2 arguments I'm seeing in this thread as of late: the ones giving up on Baertschi this early in the season and the ones blaming WD for throwing Baer in and out of the lineup. To me, neither argument makes a whole lot of sense for different reasons.

Why can't we just wait and see how his season unfolds rather than jumping to conclusions and throwing random blame around?

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1 hour ago, ForsbergTheGreat said:

Not every players game is crash and bang, first on the forecheck, and park themselves in front of the net, Sedins are prime examples.  They are a puck control game.  When they don't have the puck they aren't very effective.  Especially when they were beginning their careers.  Skill players need to be giving time to develop and find there confidents.  St. Louis, Sedins, and Naslund are all players they play the skill game. Sven needs to get the ice opportunity and trust from his coach.  You can see the skill set is there,  They plays he can make with the puck are at elite level and you see glimpses of his high IQ from time to time in the games.  Right now he's not hurting the team, and the reward of developing him properly is far greater than the risk.  Canucks are short on high skilled players, lets not have a knee jerk reaction 20 games in.  People were saying the same thing about the twins early in their careers.  Thankfully we were patient with them.

Are you saying that Bearcheese will be like the Sedins, St. Louis and Naslund?

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